Hampton University gets $8 million to construct biomedical research center

Hampton

January 29, 2010|By By Samieh Shalash | 247-4537

HAMPTON — Hampton University was awarded an $8 million stimulus grant from the National Institutes of Health to build a biomedical research center.

Construction will begin within the next two months at land on Tyler Street, which leads to the campus' main entrance. The 20,000-square-foot center is expected to open next summer, a spokeswoman said.

According to the university, the facility will be a hub of research for HU's schools of nursing, pharmacy and science on issues including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, adolescent health, AIDS and Alzheimer's disease.

"The Hampton University Biomedical Center illustrates the extraordinary progress Hampton has made in expanding our research agenda," HU President William Harvey said in a statement.

The university said the research center will create professional and technical jobs, develop minority scientists and create a diverse work force. It will bring about 400 construction jobs to the area.

The new center will house the existing HU Center for Advanced Medical Instrumentation, which has developed devices that have been successfully used for breast cancer localization and treatment in clinical trials.